Page 86 of The Cosy Seaside Chocolate Shop

She had been a little hesitant to employ the new girl at first, in case The Chocolate Shop sold quickly – especially as The Brewery Boys had seemed so keen. But if it did, she reasoned, a sale might well take a few months to go through. That thought was always there like a dark spectre, but Emma resolved to just keep moving forward, until anything happened to change that. The other way led to torment.

44

A little later at the harbour, Emma parked and walked across to find Holly at the stall.

‘How’s it been going? All okay?’

Holly looked up at her through red, tear-stained eyes.

‘Holly, what on earth has happened?’

The girl took a gulp of air and then said, ‘He’s finished with me, Em.’

‘What are you talking about … Who, Adam?’ Em couldn’t believe it. ‘This can’t be right, Hols. You two are such a great couple.’

‘It’s true. He’s just been here. Came to see me. Was going to wait until later he said, but then he just blurted it out and went off in a dash.’

‘Why? Has something happened? Have you two had a row?’

‘No. I just don’t get it. He says he still likes me, but that I need my freedom now I’m going off to uni. He says it’s best for us to split up. He’s adamant, Em.’ Holly slumped down dejectedly onto the stall’s plastic chair.

Why did the course of love never run smooth?

‘Oh, Holly. I’m sure you two can sort this out. I bet it’s not because he really wants it to end. I think, in a crazy way, he might believe he’s helping you. Setting you free to go off and start afresh. To go your own way.’

‘I don’t want to go my own way. I want to go to uni, yes, but I still want to be with Adam.’ The tears plopped down her cheeks.

‘Come on.’ Emma put an arm around her assistant for a second or two. ‘Let me help you get packed up here and we’ll go back to The Chocolate Shop and you can tell me all about it. Maybe we can come up with a plan to knock some sense into that boy over a mega milkshake.’

Holly gave a small smile through the tears. ‘Thanks.’

They soon had the freezer packed into the boot of Emma’s car, with the seat folded down after a helping hand from Pete and one of the gents from the village committee. Three bags of fudge and two chocolate bars were all that remained of the goods for sale (brilliant!), and Holly carried them with her. All the ice cream and cones had gone – a sell-out, Holly had told her, and very popular, especially with the homemade fudge stick in the top. Back at the shop, Emma turned the sign on the door to Closed as the last customers left. Bev had spotted Holly’s tear-stained face and looked to Em for an explanation.

‘Adam,’ Emma mouthed silently.

‘Ah, okay,’ Bev nodded back.

‘Bev, we have a situation that calls for emergency chocolate measures,’ Em stated. ‘What would you like, Holly? A milkshake, hot chocolate, ice cream?’ Em rattled off some of the young girl’s favourites.

‘Milkshake, please, with your chocolate sauce through it – and extra marshmallows and fudge pieces on the top?’

‘No problem, I’ll fetch it,’ Bev offered, adding, ‘then you can tell us all about it, hun.’

When they were all settled down at one of the tables, Bev and Emma with a coffee, Holly with her super-duper milkshake, Em started to explain: ‘Well Bev, the thing is this, young Adam has decided that as Holly is taking herself away to Newcastle and her student life, it’s best they end their relationship. To give her some freedom, apparently. That’s the gist of it, isn’t it Hols?’

‘Yes.’ She was sounding a bit weepy again. ‘I’ve told him I don’t want that. That I still want to be with him. Yes, I really want to go and do my training, make some new friends and that. But I’m not interested in looking for a new boyfriend. Why can’t we just keep going and see how it works out? Why do we need to break up?’

‘Ah, probably a man thing. He sets you free first, so he doesn’t get hurt when you find someone else,’ Bev said.

‘Except it won’t happen. I don’t want anyone else. And if it’s true what he says, that he still really likes me, then he’s only going to hurt anyway. I know I bloody am already.’ She sniffed loudly.

‘Maybe he’s not so sure himself, not inside.’

‘I don’t know, Em, he sounded pretty definite. Like that’s the way it’s got to be.’

‘Maybe he was just trying to put a brave face on it.’

‘Ah, I don’t think so.’